The instructions for this entry were to pick a topic that interests us and explore it for our paper. This is not an assignment we get everyday in graduate school. For me, picking was easy. My paper is going to be on something film related. It always was. When most people procrastinate they go on Facebook, or Twitter, or maybe even Myspace. I don’t know to be honest, I’m too busy looking at everything the film industry has decided to put up online for purposes that I believe involve my own indulgence.
Since I’ve started I have noticed a number of things happen
within the industry every year. Summer will be chock full of blockbusters, no
good movies will come out around my birthday (September is more known as a
dumping ground for movies), and movies that audiences give low scores to will
die a slow unprofitable death in theaters. So my question is exactly how much
influences do test audiences have before the film comes out? Of course studios
want their audiences to get into their movie and enjoy it but how far do they
bend in order to please them? This goes into more than just preview screenings
and such. How does the audience’s reaction affect their marketing of the film?
Can a negative test screening actually cause a studio to inadvertently make a
film worse? The audience’s insights must have an impact but the size of it
remains in question.
We are at a point where large films are coming out and
failing often. If you look at this past summer there was essentially a big
budget flop every week. In such a crowded marketplace it is important to
deliver a quality product that audiences enjoy. According to Steven Spielberg
and George Lucas the film industry is setting itself up for a large implosion
if the large 200+ million dollar flops continue. Another question raised is how did these films test with
audiences and if so did they have any effect on them before they came out?
The scope of this topic is quite broad but is limited to
whatever information is released by the studios. Still, they would do well to
gain knowledge on this topic lest the oncoming apocalypse predicted by two of
the most prominent men in the industry come to light. Audiences pay the same
for a movie regardless of the length or quality. We have all been in a
situation when we wished we had just kept our wallet shut and wondered who let
that waste of two hours of our lives be allowed on screen. When this does happen who is more to
blame? The test audience who said it was worth a watch (after a free screening
no doubt) or the studio, which decided to dump it into theaters. And on the
other hand, when we are pleased who gets the thank you?
A number of articles have been written on this topic already
in trade magazines and articles scratching the surface of the world of audience
testing. Some have managed to get the input of the directors being judged as
well. The common consensus so far seems to be mixed. Audiences, while all fine
people I’m sure, can still get it wrong.
Articles Used:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/steven-spielberg-predicts-implosion-film-567604
http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/the-future-of-movies-the-blockbuster-apocalypse-not-yet-20130802
http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/Movies/9809/28/screen.test/
http://www.nytimes.com/1992/04/19/movies/film-she-lives-she-dies-let-the-audience-decide.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm
Hi William - Well, I love movies too, so I'll definitely be excited to read this. It seems like Malcolm Gladwell had something about screen tests in his book, Blink, but maybe not. I think the topic is great and, perhaps, this would be a great opportunity to seek out an interview with someone in the biz if you are hoping to work in it eventually. You'll have to think about how you'll organize the material, which is the goal of the next phase, so let me know if you want to chat about that. My only concern is the length of the blog, which is crazy short relative to the guidelines. See if you can write a lot more next time around.
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